OT - Books
Leo
that I've noticed, what good books are there out there these days?
I tend to like fantasy/sci fi series. Most recently:
The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (who has
unfortunately died)
The Colfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman
The Time Mage series by Louise Cooper
and I even enjoyed the Harry Potter series (including some fan
made harry potter books posted online. In fact, I liked a fake
half-blood prince I read better than the real one).
and more
So what am I missing? What's good in other genres? What's
recent that I probably don't know about?
Leo
Nostromo
Anno Domini:
> Ok, its been a long time since this subject came up, at least
>that I've noticed, what good books are there out there these days?
>
> I tend to like fantasy/sci fi series. Most recently:
>
> The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
Absolutely fabulous series...until the last book, which really put a
dampener on things for me. Hope he doesn't go the way of Jordan *sigh*.
> The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
Painful & repetitive, & tries a bit too hard for shock value with his
explicitness.
> The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (who has
>unfortunately died)
RIP...hopefully The Wheel of Time series will soon too.
> The Colfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman
Haven't read.
> The Time Mage series by Louise Cooper
Haven't read.
> and I even enjoyed the Harry Potter series (including some fan
>made harry potter books posted online. In fact, I liked a fake
>half-blood prince I read better than the real one).
>
> and more
>
> So what am I missing? What's good in other genres? What's
>recent that I probably don't know about?
If you haven't read The Assassin trilogy by Robin Hobb I can recommend that
(then there's hre Liveship Traders & Fool's trilogies follow-ups which I
haven't got into as much).
*Anything* by Peter Hamilton if you're a sci-fi fan (loved the Night's Dawn
trilogy & Commonwealth Saga). Now reading the new Commonwealth trilogy
beginning with The Dreaming Void.
I have recently really enjoyed (to my surprise) Terry Brooks' Armageddon
Children & Elves of Cintra & would recommend those. They are a Shannara
prequel which I'd never read before. Very good merging of sci-fi & fantasy
in a post-holocaust north america. I know lots of ppl think of Shannara as
grossly derivative of Tolkien & a rip-off, but I've actually grabbed the
e-books & am working my way through those slowly. Not the same style or
flavour as his recent works (hey, it was his first work 30 years ago!), but
so far so good. There's also The Word & The Void trilogy which is kinda a
prequel to the prequel, before this current Armageddon trilogy.
Of other recent reading in the last couple years: Old Man's War, The Ghost
Brigades & the 3rd in the trilogy coming soon from John Scalzi - cannot
recommend these highly enough for an easy sci-fi short novel read.
That's it, I'm out - hope you find what you're looking for Leo ;).
--
Nostromo
Mark Morrison
wrote:
> I tend to like fantasy/sci fi series. Most recently:
I just got (and read in one day) the new Harry Dresden book, written
by Jim Butcher, called Small Favour.
Harry Dresden is a wizard working in modern day Chicago, and is the
only wizard working openly (he's in the phone book, under 'Wizard').
The books are basically detective books, set in the magic underworld.
It's a great series of books, and I've loved them since the start.
Well worth picking up if you like good action and witty dialogue.
GSV Three Minds in a Can
wonderful person Leo <Anon...@anonymous.com> said
> Ok, its been a long time since this subject came up, at least
>that I've noticed, what good books are there out there these days?
>
> I tend to like fantasy/sci fi series. Most recently:
>
> The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
Started off well, but I fear GRRM may have lost the fox.
>
> The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
Well the first one or two were tolerable
> The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (who has
>unfortunately died)
Arrrggghhhhhhh (to be continued by Kevin Anderson, Brian Herbert, &
Gentry Lee?)
> The Colfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman
Not bad
> The Time Mage series by Louise Cooper
Better
> and I even enjoyed the Harry Potter series (including some fan
>made harry potter books posted online. In fact, I liked a fake
>half-blood prince I read better than the real one).
>
> and more
>
> So what am I missing? What's good in other genres? What's
>recent that I probably don't know about?
You're missing the Weiss & Hickman Dragonlance books (avoid anyone
else's), You're missing Feist (at least the Magician series), you're
missing the Beleriand by Eddings - but avoid the endless sequels, unless
you like that sort of thing (Oh wait, you like Wheel of time .. Ok, all
of Eddings then), and last, and probably best, you are missing the
Malazan Book of the Fallen stuff by Erikson, which is a must read.
--
GSV Three Minds in a Can
11,517 Km walked. 2,259 Km PROWs surveyed. 40.9% complete.
Chuk Goodin
I just started reading a similar but older series, Glen Cook's _Garrett,
PI_ books. They're set in an actual fantasy land, mostly in the city, and
Garrett is an ex-military guy who now does Private Investigator work (he
has no magic powers of his own). First one was called _Sweet Silver
Blues_.
--
chuk
Chuk Goodin
> The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
> The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (who has
>unfortunately died)
> The Colfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman
>recent that I probably don't know about?
Staying in fantasy, I really liked _The Name of the Wind_ by Patrick
Rothfuss. This one is new, the start of a new series or trilogy or
something. Talks about a famous feared warrior, and this is him telling
his life story about how he came to power, mostly in flashbacks.
Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
This is the first book about some rebels fighting an oppressive
fantasy empire. It has neat magic in it that involves eating metal,
and it's more like a caper story than your traditional fantasy epic --
crooks planning some crimes and setting up detailed plans, and what
goes wrong when they try to carry them out. Sanderson also has another
good one out called Elantris, with lots of magic and a weird disease. Plus
he's going to finish Jordan's _Wheel of Time_.
The Lies of Lock Lamora - Scott Lynch
This is another caper type story -- about a bunch of very well trained
theives and con men and how they got to be that way. The second book
is out right now and I'm reading it. No elves or dwarves though, there
is some magic but it's not the focus of the books, more about society
and clever insults. Second book is out now and while not quite as good
still better than a lot of others.
I usually read more SF than fantasy, though. Joe Haldeman's _The
Accidental Time Machine_ was a recent good one, most of Robert Charles
Wilson's stuff is good (especially _Spin_, and I quite liked _The
Chronoliths_ -- I am a bit of a time travel fan, though.) Also pretty much
anything with Charles Stross' name on it is fun -- he's got one series
that I sort of want to wait on, though, it's ballooned up to 4 books
already and probably has two or three more coming (it's called _The
Merchant Princes_, I think. Or one of the books is. Or something.)
_Halting State_ is good, kind of like a robbery in an MMORPG a few years
from now.
A few more fantasy: anything by Guy Gavriel Kay (his newer stuff is
better -- you can probably skip his first trilogy (The Fionovar
Tapestry)), Naomi Novik's Temeraire books are quite fun (Napoleonic Era,
but with dragons, too), and I like David Farland's Runelords stuff.
--
chuk
Chuk Goodin
>Brigades & the 3rd in the trilogy coming soon from John Scalzi - cannot
>recommend these highly enough for an easy sci-fi short novel read.
I like Scalzi's stuff, he's also done _The Android's Dream_ which was
unrelated to the other stuff -- the 3rd in the trilogy (_The Last Colony_)
is out now, it was good, a new one's coming soon and I think there's a
short story or something out there, too.
--
chuk
Chuk Goodin
<G...@quik.clara.co.uk> wrote:
>You're missing the Weiss & Hickman Dragonlance books (avoid anyone
>else's), You're missing Feist (at least the Magician series), you're
>missing the Beleriand by Eddings - but avoid the endless sequels, unless
>you like that sort of thing (Oh wait, you like Wheel of time .. Ok, all
>of Eddings then), and last, and probably best, you are missing the
>Malazan Book of the Fallen stuff by Erikson, which is a must read.
I second the Malazan recommendation -- they are HUGE and really epic,
spanning everything from a hundred millenium old weredragon who lives in a
flying castle to backalley cutthroats in urban slums. Lots of fighting,
some very big magic, a good sense of a really long history/backstory. The
first book is not quite as good as the later ones.
--
chuk
Greg Johnson
>Thus spake Leo <Anon...@anonymous.com>, Sun, 04 May 2008 19:26:00 -0700,
>Anno Domini:
>
>> Ok, its been a long time since this subject came up, at least
>>that I've noticed, what good books are there out there these days?
>>
>> I tend to like fantasy/sci fi series. Most recently:
>>
>> The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
>
>Absolutely fabulous series...until the last book, which really put a
>dampener on things for me. Hope he doesn't go the way of Jordan *sigh*.
I found it a bit too depressing to read further than the first book.
>> The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
>
>Painful & repetitive, & tries a bit too hard for shock value with his
>explicitness.
The first book was good, but it went downhill pretty rapidly after
that.
>> The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (who has
>>unfortunately died)
>
>RIP...hopefully The Wheel of Time series will soon too.
Isn't the 12th book supposed to be the final one? I know there's some
writer who was commissioned by the family to work from the outline
Jordan left.
>> The Colfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman
*Coldfire
>Haven't read.
These are classic, and a must-read if you don't mind the dark tone.
>> The Time Mage series by Louise Cooper
>
>Haven't read.
I liked them when I was 15. I'm not sure I would now.
>If you haven't read The Assassin trilogy by Robin Hobb I can recommend that
>(then there's hre Liveship Traders & Fool's trilogies follow-ups which I
>haven't got into as much).
Hobb's too fond of doing terrible things to the characters for no
reason at all.
>*Anything* by Peter Hamilton if you're a sci-fi fan (loved the Night's Dawn
>trilogy & Commonwealth Saga). Now reading the new Commonwealth trilogy
>beginning with The Dreaming Void.
I'd call Hamilton a guilty pleasure, on the order of Simon Green's
Deathstalker books. You know it's not great writing, but it's fun
anyway.
I've recently started reading the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher.
They're quite good noir detective fantasy, much like Glen Cook's
Garrett books.
For space opera in a Star Wars-ish style(but totally original), you
might try the Mageworlds series by Debra Doyle & James D MacDonald.
Lois Bujold writes a lot of interesting SF & has recently moved to
fantasy as well - she doesn't seem to stick to a particular formula,
changing a bit with every book.
Lawrence Watt-Evans is pretty good and mainly writes fantasy these
days, AFAIK.
Greg Johnson
wrote:
>A few more fantasy: anything by Guy Gavriel Kay (his newer stuff is
>better -- you can probably skip his first trilogy (The Fionovar
>Tapestry))
But one of his latest books is a sequel to it, though it's capable of
standing on its own.
Nostromo
(UTC), Anno Domini:
Kewl - thanks for the tip!
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
21:26:08 +0100, Anno Domini:
>You're missing the Weiss & Hickman Dragonlance books (avoid anyone
>else's), You're missing Feist (at least the Magician series), you're
I can second the first 2 trilogies of Dragonlance, though it's been over 15
years since I've read them I think.
>missing the Beleriand by Eddings - but avoid the endless sequels, unless
>you like that sort of thing (Oh wait, you like Wheel of time .. Ok, all
>of Eddings then), and last, and probably best, you are missing the
Belgariad/Malorean weren't bad for what they were (couldn't stand the
henpecking women - same with Jordan's Aes Sedai).
>Malazan Book of the Fallen stuff by Erikson, which is a must read.
Will look this up myself - tx!
--
Nostromo
Leo
now of books to get. => Keep 'em comin'!
Leo
Nostromo
+1000, Anno Domini:
>On Mon, 05 May 2008 20:43:00 +1000, Nostromo <nos...@forme.org> wrote:
>
>>Thus spake Leo <Anon...@anonymous.com>, Sun, 04 May 2008 19:26:00 -0700,
>>Anno Domini:
>>
>>> Ok, its been a long time since this subject came up, at least
>>>that I've noticed, what good books are there out there these days?
>>>
>>> I tend to like fantasy/sci fi series. Most recently:
>>>
>>> The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
>>
>>Absolutely fabulous series...until the last book, which really put a
>>dampener on things for me. Hope he doesn't go the way of Jordan *sigh*.
>
>I found it a bit too depressing to read further than the first book.
Yeah? Don't like the more realistic medieval fantasy with lots of principal
character dying? ;)
>>> The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
>>
>>Painful & repetitive, & tries a bit too hard for shock value with his
>>explicitness.
>
>The first book was good, but it went downhill pretty rapidly after
>that.
I only got halfway through the 3rd & put it down.
>>> The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (who has
>>>unfortunately died)
>>
>>RIP...hopefully The Wheel of Time series will soon too.
>
>Isn't the 12th book supposed to be the final one? I know there's some
>writer who was commissioned by the family to work from the outline
>Jordan left.
So I've heard. I read somewhere Terry Brooks spent a lot of time at his bed
1-2 years ago. There's hope yet if so, as his recent work is quite good imo.
>>> The Colfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman
>*Coldfire
>>Haven't read.
>
>These are classic, and a must-read if you don't mind the dark tone.
Will put on my list - cheers.
>>> The Time Mage series by Louise Cooper
>>
>>Haven't read.
>
>I liked them when I was 15. I'm not sure I would now.
Heh, I loved Magician 20 years ago, but on a re-read a couple years ago it
really didn't measure up. Some books are like classic games it seems - best
to leave them to fond memories ;).
>>If you haven't read The Assassin trilogy by Robin Hobb I can recommend that
>>(then there's hre Liveship Traders & Fool's trilogies follow-ups which I
>>haven't got into as much).
>
>Hobb's too fond of doing terrible things to the characters for no
>reason at all.
Shit happens? Fitz was incredibly frustrating in his ineptness as a 'hero'
in Assassin; I've put down the Liveships after book 1. Who knows if I'll
ever get back to it or the Fool's 3rd & final trilogy? *sigh*
>>*Anything* by Peter Hamilton if you're a sci-fi fan (loved the Night's Dawn
>>trilogy & Commonwealth Saga). Now reading the new Commonwealth trilogy
>>beginning with The Dreaming Void.
>
>I'd call Hamilton a guilty pleasure, on the order of Simon Green's
>Deathstalker books. You know it's not great writing, but it's fun
>anyway.
He, he, fair nuff. Another sci-fi series I hear good things about in Altered
Carbon (book 1).
>I've recently started reading the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher.
>They're quite good noir detective fantasy, much like Glen Cook's
>Garrett books.
Seen the series & didn't mind it - shame it got axed after barely 1 season.
>For space opera in a Star Wars-ish style(but totally original), you
>might try the Mageworlds series by Debra Doyle & James D MacDonald.
I think that's the 2nd recomm in this thread so will put that on my list too
tx.
>Lois Bujold writes a lot of interesting SF & has recently moved to
>fantasy as well - she doesn't seem to stick to a particular formula,
>changing a bit with every book.
>
>Lawrence Watt-Evans is pretty good and mainly writes fantasy these
>days, AFAIK.
I so wanted to get his Misenchanted Sword & a couple other of the Ithshar(?)
series, but just couldn't get them even on ebay (none available for import).
Might try my luck with e-books.
One other very dark demonic novel just came to mind I'm looking for: God's
Demon by Wayne Barlowe. There's a couple chapters for free on Amazon I
believe. Pretty creepy stuff.
--
Nostromo
Greg Johnson
>Thus spake Greg Johnson <greg...@gmail.com>, Tue, 06 May 2008 15:18:44
>+1000, Anno Domini:
>>Lawrence Watt-Evans is pretty good and mainly writes fantasy these
>>days, AFAIK.
>
>I so wanted to get his Misenchanted Sword & a couple other of the Ithshar(?)
>series, but just couldn't get them even on ebay (none available for import).
>Might try my luck with e-books.
Have you tried the library? I know the Eastern Regional Libraries have
quite a few of the Ethshar books. I own about half of them myself.
>One other very dark demonic novel just came to mind I'm looking for: God's
>Demon by Wayne Barlowe. There's a couple chapters for free on Amazon I
>believe. Pretty creepy stuff.
If you want dark and gritty, then try Simon Green's Hawk & Fisher
series. They might be a bit hard to get hold of, though - I think
they're long out of print.
Greg Johnson
wrote:
> Some great suggestions guys, I have a nice little list going
>now of books to get. => Keep 'em comin'!
>
Another fantasy author you might look at is LE Modesitt Jr. The
Recluce books are quite good, though to some extent he's guilty of
plot recycling. Still, there's some great worldbuilding there.
Paul Murray
>
> I tend to like fantasy/sci fi series. Most recently:
>
> The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
I found these a bit too gloomy and depressing, but recognise that
they were very good for what they were.
> The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
Meh. Not bad, but nothing special.
> The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (who has
> unfortunately died)
Horrible. Horrible horrible horrible.
Sorry, got that out of my system.
Try:
- Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (excellent)
- the Exiles series by Julian May.
- the Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. There have been far too many of
these, I'd say Dragonsong/Dragonsinger and/or White Dragon were probably
the peak of the series.
- the endless ...of the Shannara books. Some of them were actually good.
- If you can take the excessive cuteness, you could try some David
Eddings, I'd recomment the Elenium series (starting with Diamond Throne)
over the better known Belgariad.
- Amber series by Roger Zelazny
- Recluce series, as suggested by another poster.
> The Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman
Very good.
If you like more of the anti-hero or uncomfortable morality, try:
- The Thomas Covenent books by Stephen R Donaldson
Leaning a bit more to SciFi, also try the Gap series by the same
author. It isn't a nice read, but it is very good.
In sciFi, current top authors are:
- Iain M Banks (the stuff he writes as Iain Banks is non-scifi)
I'd suggest Consider Phlebas as a good one to start with, others might
differ. Either way, I find the Culture books easier to get at than his
others.
- Neal Asher
Either start with Gridlinked or The Skinner, I'd recommend the latter.
- Alastair Reynolds
Either Revelation Space or Chasm City could be a good first read.
- Peter Hamilton
Several different series you could try.
Mindstar Rising for the Greg Mandel series
Fallen Dragon
But the best would be The Reality Dysfunction in the Night's Dawn series.
A step down from those, or past authors:
- Richard Morgan
Start with Altered Carbon.
- David Brin
The Uplift series, starting with Sundiver.
- David Wingrove
The Chung Kao series, starting with the Middle Kingdom. It lost its way
a bit by the end of the series, but there were several good books in there.
- Greg Bear
Lots of good one-off books. Maybe try Eon as a first one.
- Elizabeth Bear
Wetwired series, starting with Hammered
- Dan Simmons
Hyperion series, starting with the book of the same name.
That's a lot of books, so if I were to pick five, I'd choose:
- Perdido Street Station (China Mielville)
- The Skinner (Neal Asher)
- Consider Phlebas (Iain M Banks)
- The Many Coloured Land (Julian May)
- Dragonsong (Anne McCaffrey)
Xocyll
the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
<snip>
>If you want dark and gritty, then try Simon Green's Hawk & Fisher
>series. They might be a bit hard to get hold of, though - I think
>they're long out of print.
I have some of those in a re-released pair of 3 stories per book
anthologies (the Haven stories).
Very gritty indeed.
Since I came to the series late I'm finding it damn hard to get the
before-Haven books.
Xocyll
--
I don't particularly want you to FOAD, myself. You'll be more of
a cautionary example if you'll FO And Get Chronically, Incurably,
Painfully, Progressively, Expensively, Debilitatingly Ill. So
FOAGCIPPEDI. -- Mike Andrews responding to an idiot in asr
twistdknickrs
> Greg Johnson <greg....@gmail.com> looked up from reading the entrails of
I have read all the posts and NO one has mentioned Janny Wurts and her
Cycle of Fire, and War of the Light and Alliance series. She has
written others as well.
Also, there is David Drake and his Lord of the Isles series.
I have collected all of LE Modesitt, Jr.'s writings, too
I have over 40 sci-fantasy authors in my collection, and these are
just a few that were not mentioned and I am enjoying presently.
Les Steel
> Ok, its been a long time since this subject came up, at least
> that I've noticed, what good books are there out there these days?
>
> I tend to like fantasy/sci fi series. Most recently:
>
> The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
>
I love those
> The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
>
> The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (who has
> unfortunately died)
I got sick of them by book 8
>
> The Colfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman
>
> The Time Mage series by Louise Cooper
>
> and I even enjoyed the Harry Potter series (including some fan
> made harry potter books posted online. In fact, I liked a fake
> half-blood prince I read better than the real one).
>
> and more
>
> So what am I missing? What's good in other genres? What's
> recent that I probably don't know about?
>
> Leo
>
Try James Barclay, I enjoyed the Chronicles of the Raven series and the
Legends of the Raven.
Oh and any book by David Gemmell! Druss, Tenaka Khan and Waylander are
all fantastic characters. Pity he also passed recently :(
Also Conn Iggulden is quite good at the old Historic fiction, as is
Bernard Cornwell. Both excellent story tellers, in my opinion of course!
--
Les
Les Steel
Oh I forgot to mention the Weiss & Hickman Dragonlance books in my
reply. Ferkin brilliant!
--
Les
Chuk Goodin
>>*Anything* by Peter Hamilton if you're a sci-fi fan (loved the Night's Dawn
>>trilogy & Commonwealth Saga). Now reading the new Commonwealth trilogy
>>beginning with The Dreaming Void.
>
>I'd call Hamilton a guilty pleasure, on the order of Simon Green's
>Deathstalker books. You know it's not great writing, but it's fun
>anyway.
I like his stuff, but it does tend to bloat up and he can have some plot
problems. But how can you not like intelligent telepathic starships and
undead magic-powered Prohibition era gangsters in the same book?
>I've recently started reading the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher.
>They're quite good noir detective fantasy, much like Glen Cook's
>Garrett books.
I'm one behind on the Dresden and just started the Garrett books a few
weeks ago, both good stuff.
--
chuk
Chuk Goodin
>Carbon (book 1).
I like most of the Richard Morgan stuff (the second Kovacs book was
probably my least favourite, his new one "Thirteen" the best so far. Well,
_AC_ itself is pretty good.)
>>Lawrence Watt-Evans is pretty good and mainly writes fantasy these
>>days, AFAIK.
>
>I so wanted to get his Misenchanted Sword & a couple other of the Ithshar(?)
>series, but just couldn't get them even on ebay (none available for import).
>Might try my luck with e-books.
I love the Ethshar stuff myself. He did the last couple of them as ebooks
for sure -- actually, I just checked and Fictionwise has the first ones,
too. (I had to get some of them as interlibrary loans.)
--
chuk
Chuk Goodin
Yeah, I was actually a long way through that one before I even clued in
that they were connected. (I still liked it though -- maybe not quite as
much as The Sarantine Mosaic).
--
chuk
Greg Johnson
>- Iain M Banks (the stuff he writes as Iain Banks is non-scifi)
>I'd suggest Consider Phlebas as a good one to start with, others might
>differ. Either way, I find the Culture books easier to get at than his
>others.
Personally I started with The Player of Games. I like his non-SF too.
Both sets of his books tend to be quite dark in tone.
>- David Wingrove
>The Chung Kao series, starting with the Middle Kingdom. It lost its way
>a bit by the end of the series, but there were several good books in there.
Another guilty pleasure. This is the set of books that convinced me I
_could_ stand a soap-opera plot as long as it had the SF trappings.
The last book was just no good.
Paul Murray
>>- Iain M Banks (the stuff he writes as Iain Banks is non-scifi)
>>I'd suggest Consider Phlebas as a good one to start with, others might
>>differ. Either way, I find the Culture books easier to get at than his
>>others.
> Personally I started with The Player of Games. I like his non-SF too.
> Both sets of his books tend to be quite dark in tone.
I didn't quite get on with Player of Games, not sure why, I never really
connected with the main character. The non-scifi stuff you might need a
pretty strong stomach for. I started with the Wasp Factory, and it isn't
an easy read.
>>- David Wingrove
>>The Chung Kao series, starting with the Middle Kingdom. It lost its way
>>a bit by the end of the series, but there were several good books in there.
> Another guilty pleasure. This is the set of books that convinced me I
> _could_ stand a soap-opera plot as long as it had the SF trappings.
> The last book was just no good.
He wrote himself into a corner. Kept bringing the baddie back and making him
more and more powerful.
Mark Morrison
>Oh I forgot to mention the Weiss & Hickman Dragonlance books in my
>reply. Ferkin brilliant!
Seconded - I really need to re-read them at some point.
Greg Johnson
wrote:
>Greg Johnson <greg...@gmail.com> looked up from reading the entrails of
>the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
><snip>
>>If you want dark and gritty, then try Simon Green's Hawk & Fisher
>>series. They might be a bit hard to get hold of, though - I think
>>they're long out of print.
>
>I have some of those in a re-released pair of 3 stories per book
>anthologies (the Haven stories).
>
>Very gritty indeed.
>
>Since I came to the series late I'm finding it damn hard to get the
>before-Haven books.
Um, what exactly are you referring to here? So far as I know, there
are no pre-Haven Hawk & Fisher Books. Blue Moon Rising is about the
characters who eventually become Hawk & Fisher, but it ends well
before that point. Blood & Honour and Down Among The Dead Men are both
set in the same world, but involve none of the same characters at all.
Did he write more I don't know about?
Greg Johnson
>On 2008-05-06, Greg Johnson <greg...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>- Iain M Banks (the stuff he writes as Iain Banks is non-scifi)
>>>I'd suggest Consider Phlebas as a good one to start with, others might
>>>differ. Either way, I find the Culture books easier to get at than his
>>>others.
>> Personally I started with The Player of Games. I like his non-SF too.
>> Both sets of his books tend to be quite dark in tone.
>
>I didn't quite get on with Player of Games, not sure why, I never really
>connected with the main character. The non-scifi stuff you might need a
>pretty strong stomach for. I started with the Wasp Factory, and it isn't
>an easy read.
I wouldn't recommend that particular book to anybody, but it's far
from typical of his work. Something like Complicity is quite dark
enough for me.
Xocyll
Well the blue moon one is mentioned in one of the haven stories (the
inheritance one where they were to get altered for a disguise but their
exposure to wild magic in the aforementioned book forces a cosmetic
disguise instead) so I counted it as a per-haven Hawk and Fisher story.
I haven't yet found it to read it.
There's also a post Haven one when they go back up north, but I can't
recall the name of it and my books are all a jumble from moving it so I
can't check the title of it.
Just read Blood and Honor the other day - quite a neat story.
Greg Johnson
wrote:
Blue Moon Rising was the first book of his I read. It was published in
1991, but I expect there's been a reprint since then. You know how the
Haven stories take place after they try to settle down from a life of
adventuring - well, this is more or less the story of how and why they
started adventuring together in the first place. There's a huge gap of
time between the end of it and the start of the first Haven book,
during which many things have obviously happened, but so far as I know
there are no books that cover that.
>There's also a post Haven one when they go back up north, but I can't
>recall the name of it and my books are all a jumble from moving it so I
>can't check the title of it.
Yes, that was the confirmation that the main characters in Blue Moon
Rising really were the same people as Hawk & Fisher. Until then, it
was an obvious guess with no actual hard evidence.
Xocyll
the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
>On May 6, 9:04 am, Xocyll <Xoc...@kingston.net> wrote:
>> Greg Johnson <greg....@gmail.com> looked up from reading the entrails of
>> the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
>> <snip>
>>
>> >If you want dark and gritty, then try Simon Green's Hawk & Fisher
>> >series. They might be a bit hard to get hold of, though - I think
>> >they're long out of print.
>>
>> I have some of those in a re-released pair of 3 stories per book
>> anthologies (the Haven stories).
>>
>> Very gritty indeed.
>>
>> Since I came to the series late I'm finding it damn hard to get the
>> before-Haven books.
>
>I have read all the posts and NO one has mentioned Janny Wurts and her
>Cycle of Fire, and War of the Light and Alliance series. She has
>written others as well.
Don't think I've read any of those.
In fact I don't think I've read any of her stuff other than the "Empire"
stuff with Feist.
>Also, there is David Drake and his Lord of the Isles series.
Been loving those, I just hate waiting till he writes another.
Nostromo
Cheers again - will look Green up - never heard of him before.
I haven't been in a library since I last got kicked out in Uni, so not
likely <EG>. Seriously, will ring a local one (I'm in West Mel these
days, soon to move further west into country (Gisborne), if I can't find
these anywhere else, so might be worth a shot. I'm *really* liking my
whole e-book fad these days though, for various reasons (half-price,
more portable with a PDA, can read in the dark in bed & not disturb
missy, etc).
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
> On Tue, 06 May 2008 15:18:44 +1000, Greg Johnson <greg...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> *Anything* by Peter Hamilton if you're a sci-fi fan (loved the Night's Dawn
>>> trilogy & Commonwealth Saga). Now reading the new Commonwealth trilogy
>>> beginning with The Dreaming Void.
>> I'd call Hamilton a guilty pleasure, on the order of Simon Green's
>> Deathstalker books. You know it's not great writing, but it's fun
>> anyway.
>
> I like his stuff, but it does tend to bloat up and he can have some plot
> problems. But how can you not like intelligent telepathic starships and
> undead magic-powered Prohibition era gangsters in the same book?
And there is that! :)
I'm think I enjoyed his Commonwealth Saga (2 books) better than the
grand sweeping Night's Dawn trilogy. This new Dreaming Void Commonwealth
trilogy is interesting, though a bit all over the place in the first
book. Still, great reading with a lot of interesting far-future
hypotheticals. He goes beyond just the technological in his writing
which I do enjoy.
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
Anno Domini:
>>I have read all the posts and NO one has mentioned Janny Wurts and her
>>Cycle of Fire, and War of the Light and Alliance series. She has
>>written others as well.
>
>Don't think I've read any of those.
>In fact I don't think I've read any of her stuff other than the "Empire"
>stuff with Feist.
CoF was quite good, all those years ago, FWIW.
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
+1000, Anno Domini:
Banks sure does make you work for your kicks. Phlebas was a
once-in-a-lifetime experience for me; Against a Dark Background was fabulous
in a crazy, mind-bending sort of way - I put it down halfway & then couldn't
find the book after a move, dammit. Not sure I have another Banks
brain-twister in me though :-/.
--
Nostromo
Ped Xing
news:i2rs14p0oihr7c6ob...@4ax.com:
> Ok, its been a long time since this subject came up, at least
> that I've noticed, what good books are there out there these days?
As others have already mentioned, the Malazan series by Steven Erickson
is a must. George R.R. Martin's series used to be my favorite, but I
fear he's lost the plot ala Robert Jordan, and it's Erickson's titles I
look forward to most now.
Something I read recently which I enjoyed was the Tamir Trilogy by Lynn
Flewelling. The Bone Doll's Twin, Hidden Warrior, and The Oracle's
Queen. The books come recommended by Robin Hobb, who did the Farseer
Trilogy which I also recommend.
Glen Cook is said to be influetial, and some of his older stories were
recently re-released. I read "A Cruel Wind: A Chronicle Of The Dread
Empire", which contains three stories. Cook was an influence of Steven
Erickson.
I hope that helps.
--
Ped Xing
Greg Johnson
>Banks sure does make you work for your kicks. Phlebas was a
>once-in-a-lifetime experience for me; Against a Dark Background was fabulous
>in a crazy, mind-bending sort of way - I put it down halfway & then couldn't
>find the book after a move, dammit. Not sure I have another Banks
>brain-twister in me though :-/.
If you'd like to read some of his non-brain twister stuff(yes, it does
exist), then I recommend The Crow Road(non-SF), The Business(non-SF),
Excession(SF, Culture), Feersum Endjinn(a straight SF adventure story,
if you can get past the language), or Inversions(Fantasy at first
glance, but SF if you've read any Culture novels).
Actually, on second thought all of these, though largely
straightforward, do have something a bit brain-twisty about them :).
Les Steel
I have the annotated Chronicles, Legends trilogy, War of Souls trilogy
along with Second Generation and Dragons of Summer Flame.
Got all except the Chronicles for xmas. Read most of em way back. I much
prefer the Dragonlance setting over Forgotten Realms.
** I would also recommend the Death Gate cycle by the same authors to
any one alse reasing the thread.
--
Les
Nostromo
+1000, Anno Domini:
>
>If you'd like to read some of his non-brain twister stuff(yes, it does
>exist), then I recommend The Crow Road(non-SF), The Business(non-SF),
>Excession(SF, Culture), Feersum Endjinn(a straight SF adventure story,
>if you can get past the language), or Inversions(Fantasy at first
Cheers again - filed away for future ref!
--
Nostromo
CoinSpin
> Ok, its been a long time since this subject came up, at least
> that I've noticed, what good books are there out there these days?
>
>
> The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin
>
>
> unfortunately died)
>
>
>
> made harry potter books posted online. In fact, I liked a fake
> half-blood prince I read better than the real one).
>
> and more
>
> So what am I missing? What's good in other genres? What's
> recent that I probably don't know about?
>
>
Many of my recent recommended reads have already been listed by others,
but I have a few suggestions that are a bit older (and possibly hard to
find). These are some of the books that stand out in my long sci-fi /
fantasy reading history...
Armor by John Steakley is one of my favorites in the space/sci-fi
arena. A little like Starship Troopers, but more cohesive and
psychological.
"The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant" by Stephen R. Donaldson was a series
that I thoroughly enjoyed. I also really enjoyed the "Mordant's Need"
books, I think they were "The Mirror of Her Dreams" and "A Man Rides
Through" or something along those lines.
"The Books of Swords" by Fred Saberhagen were ones that I read years and
years ago, then went back and read when I found them in a box while
moving things around. Hey, I've got to plug that series, it's where I
got my moniker.
And then there's the guilty pleasures books... "Spell Singer" series by
Alan Dean Foster for an old-school example of that. Loved the "Magic
Kingdom For Sale: Sold" series by Terry Brooks. Ah, and who can forget
Terry Pratchett and his Discworld novels? Such a quirky sense of humor,
loved reading those.
The old "Wild Cards" series was fun too, edited by George R. R. Martin,
but really a collaborative collection of characters and stories woven
together by a group of well known writers who put together a superhero
style role playing game and then serialized it. (I think it was GURPS
they played, not 100% on that). Rather interesting parallel Earth
history storyline, kind of gritty and weird at times, but generally good
fun.
And if you tend to be more of a technophile and love detail, Neal
Stephenson does some good writing. "Snow Crash" was fun, so was "The
Diamond Age."
Ok, that's all I can think of... Must sleep now.
CoinSpin
Greg Johnson
<coin^spam^sp...@comcast.net> wrote:
>And if you tend to be more of a technophile and love detail, Neal
>Stephenson does some good writing. "Snow Crash" was fun, so was "The
>Diamond Age."
He does write pretty well, but he doesn't seem to know how to stop
properly. Even the book of his that I think finishes best
(Cryptonomicon) just sort of trails off without a real ending.
Werner Spahl
Compared to William Gibson or Richard Morgan he can't write at all :)!
--
Werner Spahl (sp...@cup.uni-muenchen.de) Freedom for
"The meaning of my life is to make me crazy" Vorlonships
CoinSpin
Heh... Yah, he's all about the substance, and Cryptonomicon is a prime
example of his writing. So much background, theory, and work fleshing
out the mechanics of the science - in Stephenson's stories usually the
science is the main character, as it has more development and
description than the protagonists. But hey, if you are a true
technophile, you love that stuff. Plenty of tech substance (even if
most of the story is substance, light on the form and function).
CoinSpin
Chuk Goodin
wrote:
>The old "Wild Cards" series was fun too, edited by George R. R. Martin,
>but really a collaborative collection of characters and stories woven
>together by a group of well known writers who put together a superhero
>style role playing game and then serialized it. (I think it was GURPS
>they played, not 100% on that). Rather interesting parallel Earth
>history storyline, kind of gritty and weird at times, but generally good
>fun.
I love the Wild Cards books. There are new ones out now -- the most recent
was set at a reality TV show for Aces. (And the original game was actually
played using Superworld, but there are some old WC supplements for GURPS.)
There's a new comic book series, too, haven't read it but saw a sample
online and it looks good.
>And if you tend to be more of a technophile and love detail, Neal
>Stephenson does some good writing. "Snow Crash" was fun, so was "The
>Diamond Age."
Stephenson's probably my favourite author overall, although I liked the
Baroque Cycle less. He's got a new one coming out this fall, sounds good,
has aliens.
--
chuk
Azure
news:s27u14ll6kkokn8hr...@4ax.com:
> On Sun, 04 May 2008 19:26:00 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg, Leo
> wrote:
>
>> Ok, its been a long time since this subject came up, at least
>>that I've noticed, what good books are there out there these days?
>>
>> So what am I missing? What's good in other genres? What's
>>recent that I probably don't know about?
>>
> I'm investigating the past at this point. I'm reading Jane Austin, and
> re-reading Faulkner. I've started in on Tom Clancy, too, when I don't
> feel like doing mental backflips.
>
> My wife is reading "Vanity Fair," the book, not the magazine. She
> highly recommends it.
>
> There are so many books available that no one need write anything ever
> again, yet we keep doing so.
>
> The only *recent* worthwhile books I've read are non-fiction: Jonah
> Goldberg's "Liberal Fascism" and Jimmy Carter's "Palestine."
>
> Both are satisfying reads, if you enjoy American politics.
>
> A warning: Goldberg tends to be a bit of a ranting partisan hack. He
> doesn't have William Buckley's class or wit. However, he does a
> credible job of tracing how modern politics owes much to the Fascisiti
> movement and 20th C German philosophy, even as he gives the right a
> free pass and the left a merciless, and often inane, flogging. Yes, he
> mentions "the Weathermen," and there's an entire chapter about how
> "leftists support eugenics" that I just skipped.
>
> If you've no stomach for blatant partisanship, give it a miss.
>
Thanks for the heads up on Goldberg's (blatant?) partisanship Zag. :)